EMU Volume 15 – Chapter 3

Asteroids and comets comprise a diverse range of undifferentiated bodies that are currently of much interest in terms of space exploration. The meteorites called chondrites provide us with a valuable source of information on the origin and evolution of their parent bodies. From careful study of these meteorites the primordial mineralogy can be inferred by keeping in mind that these bodies suffered thermal metamorphism and/or aqueous alteration just after their formation. In this context, newly available instruments allow us to extract chemical, isotopic, and mineralogical information on the components of primitive meteorites. This is essential to better understand the physico-chemical processes operating during the different evolutionary stages experienced by the parent bodies of chondrites.